S.O.U.L.
S.O.U.L. (魂 Tamashī,) otherwise known as Sword Owning Unexpected Life is exactly as the name implies. S.O.U.L. is one of the Zeppin; a myriad of objects, tools and weapons that have been crafted with organic capabilities, thanks to the powers of the Donor Donor Fruit. Unlike most Zeppin though, S.O.U.L. was given a functioning brain, allowing it to think, act and perform of its own free will. It was also given other features, such as a pair of eyes, allowing it to see its own environment. S.O.U.L. was hesitantly purchased by Euthemia sometime in her past. From thereon, the two have developed into an inseparable team, with both Euthemia and S.O.U.L. supporting one another both in and out of battle. Appearance Come on! Tell us what it looks like! Does it look Sinister? Cool Pirate design? Shiny? It's too bright!!! Any decoration? Is it on fire? HOT! Personality Abilities and Powers S.O.U.L. is one of the Zeppin, and as such, possesses organic donations provided by the aptly named Donor Donor Fruit. Among these donations is perhaps S.O.U.L's most important feature, his brain. Located within the sword, S.O.U.L's brain had been taken from a deceased man of unknown origin. What can be said of the brain however, is that it appears to be sentient and very intelligent, which has allowed S.O.U.L. to become self-aware, learn from past experiences, relay information, and so on. This has also allowed S.O.U.L. to retain a prominent personality all its own, and as such, it can argue against its wielder if it's displeased; a trait which its creator considered a flaw, and thus forced him to put S.O.U.L. into storage for an untold amount of time. Despite being what some have called a "problem child," S.O.U.L's independent personality has come in handy under the ownership of Euthemia, as it has allowed the sword to steer Euthemia out of trouble she may have otherwise gotten herself into in the first place. Likewise, its wide range of emotions and empathic understanding has made for a comforting companion at times too. Even then, it may sometimes get distracted or even carried away with whatever it wants to do; causing problems for its possessor, should it be needed at the moment. Thus, wielders of S.O.U.L. must be very patient with the sword, and understand how to work as a team with it. Other advantages its intelligence provides include being able to share information it's gathered with its owner, or even guiding its owner in the proper direction, should the owner be lost or confused. On top of that, S.O.U.L. can help form strategies with its owner, to make the duo much more efficient than if they were operating alone, or even in comparison to standard swordsmen. And likewise, thanks to its sapience, S.O.U.L. can actively harness and use Haki on its own, without the assisted help of its wielder. This makes things easier for the wielder, as they don't need to worry about pouring their Haki into S.O.U.L. to strengthen it; especially if they lack the ability to use Haki in the first place. Unfortunately however, S.O.U.L. seems to lack Haoshoku Haki. Another bionic feature S.O.U.L. possesses are a pair of eyes; one on either side of the blade. This gives it a full glimpse of the world around it, which allows it to take in more information and process its thoughts properly. However, due to the placement of its eyes, it lacks binocular vision, which restricts its eyesight. On top of that, it can be subjected to blindness through harsh light, or even a lack thereof. It can also be put under hypnotism, and outright fooled by illusions and visual trickery. Likewise, the eyes need proper amounts of moisture to stay in perfect condition, and thus, S.O.U.L. must blink at regular intervals to keep its eyes from drying out. As it appears susceptible to common ailments, such as tunnel vision and blindness, it can be safe to assume S.O.U.L's eyes are that of a human's or a similar race's, and not those of a cyclops nor an omniclops. Thanks to its eyes, S.O.U.L. has also been shown with the capability to read on its own. To aid it in sharing information with those around it, S.O.U.L. has also been given earholes, which are placed directly underneath its hand guard. With these, S.O.U.L. can fully hear its wielder and everything else in its vicinity. Thus, it gains the same benefits and disadvantages that others with ears possess, such as becoming overwhelmed by loud noises, or even enjoying music. Apparently plugging its earholes allows it to go temporarily deaf. Lastly, it seems to also have been given a functioning hand, which was infused into its tassel at the end of its hilt. This tassel can become prehensile; acting like an otherwise capable human hand. With it, S.O.U.L. is allowed some freedom to manage and manipulate its surroundings as it pleases, though keeping its one and only hand occupied tends to inconvenience it. With its hand, it can perform simplistic signs with its "fingers," such as counting or giving a thumb's up as a response. It has even been seen using its tassel to wrap its "arm" around anything nearby to keep itself secure, or to perform a basic mode of travel via swinging through the air and crawling on the ground. Despite its reliable appendage, the tassel can still be easily damaged, and thus greatly crippling S.O.U.L. in the process. Interestingly though, stitching the tassel back on can restore its functions to perfect condition. S.O.U.L's sentience and will is so great, it has at times shown enough strength to move its hilt and blade to a small degree. Though this is limited only to hopping and flinging its own body through the air, should it be unable to use its hand. Likewise, when being held by its owner, it can squirm back and forth with enough energy to move the owner's wrists and arms in response. This tends to mostly be used to help support its owner in swordsmanship; allowing the swordsman to put less effort into swinging S.O.U.L, or even letting the sword itself do the fighting for the swordsman. Other advantages S.O.U.L. possesses as a living weapon include being unable to feel physical pain when damaged, and being unable to become hungry and thirsty. Despite lacking a mouth to speak with, S.O.U.L. has been clever enough to use its hand to form hand signs to communicate with others, or to even carve messages into its surroundings with its own blade, in order to write its thoughts down. Additionally, it seems incapable of being effectively poisoned or sick from disease. And as S.O.U.L. doesn't need to breathe to live, it can become subjected to certain conditions its owner may otherwise be too frail to deal with. Despite these many benefits from being a living weapon, S.O.U.L. still has its fair share of burdens; one of which being that it can become tired and exhausted like anyone else, and will therefore need proper rest and sleep to remain at full health. Also, it can be possible to permanently blind S.O.U.L. by damaging its eyes; making it incapable of seeing anything ever again. And it can be killed, if its brain ever becomes irreparably damaged. Alongside that, brain damage and mental health can also become a liability for S.O.U.L. and its owner, should anything ever happen to the weapon. On top of all this, it can become subject to intense feelings of hatred, anger, fear, jealousy and so on; making it very difficult to work with when upset. S.O.U.L. can also seemingly become infatuated and fall in love, which can cloud its judgment. And finally, as it's still a sword for the most part, S.O.U.L. can become damaged through standard issues such as rusting; making maintenance on S.O.U.L. as important as it'd be for any other sword (albeit S.O.U.L. can also maintain its own health on its own, if it chooses to do so.) History So........how, what or who made it? How did it come in into your character's possession? Used for good or evil? Trivia *S.O.U.L's name seems to be a pun on the fact that it's an empathic, living weapon; and thus it may be considered to have a "soul" residing within it. Furthermore, S.O.U.L. was meant to be a reference to the title of the video game series, Soul Calibur, which involves a sentient sword as well (known as Soul Edge.) **Unexpectedly, S.O.U.L. could also be a reference to the character, Soul, from the manga and anime series, Soul Eater, which also features living weapons. External Links Soul Calibur - Wikipedia article about the video game series, Soul Calibur, which S.O.U.L's name references Soul Eater - Wikipedia article about the manga series, Soul Eater, which S.O.U.L's name references Site Navigation Category:Weapons Category:Swords Category:Zeppin Category:Wyvern 0m3g4